c and c paired passages€¦ · ways to score points in rugby. rugby can be a pretty tricky sport....

Not So Wimpy Teacher strikes again!


Have you ever watched ducks swimming in super cold water and wondered how their feet didn’t turn to ice cubes? Ducks don’t have nerves or blood vessels in their feet. This means that they don’t feel the cold or freezing temperatures when swimming in icy waters. I bet you didn’t realize that there are some very interesting things you may not know about ducks.

Many people enjoy feeding ducks bread when they visit ponds or lakes. However, did you know that bread is actually bad for ducks? It’s kind of like junk food for them. It won’t help them grow because it isn’t nutritious. What do ducks eat instead? Ducks are omnivores. This means that they eat plants and insects. They feast on grass, weeds, aquatic plants, slugs, snails, tadpoles, and worms.

Ducks have a number of ways in which they have adapted to their environment. Their webbed feet help them move quickly through water when swimming. However, they’re slow on land because the webbing makes them wobble. Ducks also have glands that produce oil. This oil covers their feathers, making them waterproof to keep them dry and warm. Their uniquely shaped bills allow them to grab and catch their food. They also have little teeth-like filters inside their bills to help them keep bugs and tiny insects in, and strain out the water.

While ducks live on land and in the water, they need water to survive. Ducks roam around on moist land to find bugs and eat grass. They also build nests to lay their eggs and keep them warm until they hatch. Ducks also need water. When digging through dirt as they look for food, they get mud in their nostrils. It’s important that they have water to dunk their heads under so that they are able to keep their nostrils clean. They also use the water to bathe in and keep their bodies free of parasites.

If you live in a place that gets pretty cold and the lakes and ponds freeze over, ducks will usually fly south for the winter. If you live somewhere that is on the warmer side year round, you’ll most likely spot ducks through the winter months.

Most people think that they know all there is to know about ducks. They seem like pretty simple creatures. However, if you take a closer look, you’ll find that there are some very interesting facts to learn about ducks.

Ducks

Not So Wimpy Teacher



If you’re ever in the freshwater areas that flow through Tasmania and Australia, be on the look out for a unique creature that waddles on land and swims through water. I’m not talking about a duck, even though there are some similarities between the two animals. This creature is the platypus.

The platypus is not only interesting to learn about, but it is also an odd-looking animal. It has a rubbery but flexible bill, kind of like a duck. In fact, it is sometimes called the duck-billed platypus. It uses its bill to scoop up food from streams and river bottoms. The platypus is a carnivore, only eating meat or insects. While scooping up foods like worms, shrimp, crabs, and other insects, it also scoops up gravel. The platypus will use the gravel as “teeth” to help it grind up the food. This is because the platypus doesn’t actually have teeth of its own to chew its food.

The platypus lives on land and in water. However, it moves a bit slower on land. It has a thick beaver-like tail that helps it maneuver through water quickly, but it also stores up fat in case there is a shortage of food. The platypus has webbed feet that are used to help quickly move around when in water. The webbing retracts, or pulls up. Once the webbing is retracted, the feet have individual nails that they can use to dig burrows while on land. Females lay eggs in these burrows. Yes! Platypuses lay eggs! Even though these creatures are considered mammals, they do lay eggs like birds. While in the water, platypuses’ eyes, ears, and noses seal shut to keep water from going in them. They also have waterproof fur to keep their top layers of fur dry and warm.

A little known thing about the platypus is that the males are venomous. They have claw-type stingers on their back feet. However, they cannot use this venom year round. The venom is only available for males during breeding season. This leads scientists to believe that the venom is not used by the platypuses for defense. Most likely, it is to fight off other platypus when looking for females.

The next time you’re out in the fresh waters of Tasmania or Australia and you think that you see a duck, a beaver, or maybe an otter, you just might have spotted the very unique and fascinating platypus.

Platypuses




Have you ever heard of a sport in which the players run down the field while trying to steal the ball from each other, often tackling opponents to get it? Most people hearing about this sport would guess that I’m talking about football. While it does have some similarities to football, I’m actually talking about the sport of rugby.

Rugby has been around since the early 1800s. While no one is positive about where the sport really originated from, it is said that it began at a school called Rugby School in England in 1823. As the years went on, rugby became more popular amongst the boys and men in England, helping the rules become more established as the sport became more popular. Rugby started spreading to many other countries. As of now it is most popular in New Zealand and Wales. However, it’s also big in Ireland, Scotland, and England, as well.

The sport is played on a large rectangular field. At the end of each side of the field is an H-shaped field goal. Each team is working to score the most points by the end of the game. The team with the ball works to get the ball down the field toward their in-goal area. The goalposts are in front of the in-goal area. When the team with the ball puts the ball down in the in-goal area, they score points called a “try”. A try is worth five points. There are other ways to score points, as well. For example, a conversion, penalty kick, or drop goal are other ways to score points in rugby.

Rugby can be a pretty tricky sport. In rugby, you cannot pass the ball forward. The ball can only be passed backward to teammates. While running forward, you’re passing the ball backward and trying not to be tackled. With all of the tackling, rugby can be considered a rough sport. There are some rules to tackling. Only the person with the ball can be tackled by another player, meaning that players trying to run after the ball carrier cannot be tackled. Since rugby players don’t usually wear helmets and pads, there are special ways they tackle in order to try to not injure players. In rugby, they don’t want the tackle to stop the game; they only tackle to steal the ball.

The next time you’re watching a sport in which the opponents are tackling and trying to steal the ball in order to get points, don’t be so sure that you’re watching a game of football. You might be watching a game of rugby.

Rugby




What do Dalllas, Greenbay, Pittsburgh, Denver, Miami, and New England have in common? They’re all cities in the United States that have professional football teams in the NFL (National Football League). Altogether there are 32 national football teams across the country.

American football has been around since the late 19th century and can also be called grid-iron football. Grid-iron football started in colleges in North America, mostly in the United States where the sport is now most popular. The first game that was played between colleges in 1869 was a soccer-style game in which the rules came from the London Football Association. However, in 1875, Yale and Harvard played their first game. This game was played with more of a rugby-type style. This led to a man by the name of Walter Camp, helping take the sport from the rugby like game to what we know as football today.

Football is played on a rectangular field that has a goalpost at each end. In front of the goalposts is a section of the field called an endzone. The player’s main goal is to run or pass the ball down the field in order to get a player from your team to cross the opponents’ end zone line with the ball. If successful, that team will score a touchdown which is worth six points. This is not the only way to score points in the game. There are other ways to score in football such as, an extra or two-point conversion, safety or a field goal.

When catching or running the ball in football, the opposing team tries to tackle the player with the ball or other teammates in order to stop the play and take down the runner. The ball is passed forward in order to get more yards and closer to the end zone or complete a pass. Football can be a dangerous sport, so wearing gear is a must. In football, players wear helmets to protect their heads when getting tackled. They also wear pads on their shoulders and chests. In fact, there is a rule in the NFL that all players must wear helmets to play in the game.

So many Americans find the sport of football interesting and entertaining to watch. The Superbowl is the most watched American broadcast every year. It is the most popular sport to watch in the United States. Now that you know the history of the game, which football team will you cheer on?

Football




“Being an author is fun. It's a great job, because I can stay up as late as I want, and if I feel like taking the day off, I do it. Plus, I get to make up silly stories and draw pictures all day.” These are the words of famous children’s author Dav Pilkey. You may have read a book from his popular series known as, Captain Underpants. However, things weren’t always fun and easy for Dav.

Dav Pilkey was born March 4, 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio. As a child, he always loved to draw and make his own comics. He often got into trouble at school and in class. His teacher would send him out of class to work in the hallway. While sitting at his desk out in the hallway, he created his first comic book about Captain Underpants. After seeing his comic book, his teacher told him that he couldn’t spend his whole life creating silly stories. Dav’s parents always encouraged him. They loved reading his comics and found them entertaining. This inspired Davto continue with his creating.

Later on in life, Dav graduated high school and began attending college at Kent State University. He was studying to be an English teacher. His English professor saw some of his comic and asked him if he had ever thought about writing children’s books. At that moment, Dav decided that was exactly what he wanted to do. He entered and won a contest for his first book titled World War Won in 1987. The book was later published. When looking for a publisher for his other creations, he was rejected many times, but he didn’t give up. Several years later, he was able to get a few more books published.

In 1997, he released the first ever Captain Underpants book. From there on, he continued releasing book after book in the series. He has sold over 80 million copies around the world and in 2017, the book was made into an animated film. Kids love the crazy things that the main characters Harold and George get into, along with their interesting superpowers. Dav has continued writing other series like Dog Man, The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, and Super Diaper Baby.

The story about how Dav Pilkey became a famous children’s author is not only inspiring, but it also lets you know that it’s okay if you run into some bumps and not everyone believes in you. If you believe in yourself and just keep working toward your goal, you can achieve it one day.

Dav Pilkey




Things don’t always work out the way that you think they’re going to. Jeff Kinney knows that lesson well. If you have ever heard of the popular children’s book series known as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, then you might know that Jeff Kinney is the award-winning author of the series. However, being a children’s author was not Jeff’s original plan.

Jeff Kinney was born in Maryland in 1971. He always had a love for reading books and enjoyed authors like Judy Blume and J.R.R. Tolkien. He describes his childhood as a very typical and normal childhood. Jeff was one of four children, with an older brother and sister, as well as a younger brother. Later in his life, Jeff attended the University of Maryland. He began working for the college newspaper and created a comic called “Igdoof”. The comic became very popular around the college. This helped Jeff decide that he wanted to be a cartoonist.

Jeff was excited about his new dream and left Maryland to go to Massachusetts in 1995. He spent the next three years trying to get newspapers interested in his comics. However, all Jeff ended up with was a pile of rejection letters. Luckily, he had been sketching each day in his sketch book for another idea he had. These sketches took him a total of eight years, and they came together to make the first book in his series called, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid was first released in pieces on a website called Funbrain.com. A publishing company then offered to publish the book in 2007, and the kids loved it! Year after year, Jeff continued adding books to the series, and it became a bestseller. To date, he has 14 books altogether in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Kids can relate to the main character in the story, Greg Heffly, and the problems he causes and faces each day. To add to the hype, there are four movies out that are based on the book series. In addition, the main character is also a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Jeff is proud of his accomplishments as a children’s author, even though that was not his original plan. He now believes that being a children’s author is what he was meant to do all along.

Jeff says that he has learned throughout his life to persevere and keep going. Even though he wasn’t able to get his career as a cartoonist up and running, he kept moving forward. He realized that he was meant to do other things. If it wasn’t for his hard work, we wouldn’t have the funny Diary of a Wimpy Kid series that so many children love to read.

Jeff Kinney




Have you ever watched ducks swimming in super cold water and wondered how their feet didn’t turn to ice cubes? Ducks don’t have nerves or blood vessels in their feet. This means that they don’t feel the cold or freezing temperatures when swimming in icy waters. I bet you didn’t realize that there are some very interesting things you may not know about ducks.

Many people enjoy feeding ducks bread when they visit ponds or lakes. However, did you know that bread is actually bad for ducks? It’s kind of like junk food for them. It won’t help them grow because it isn’t nutritious. What do ducks eat instead? Ducks are omnivores. This means that they eat plants and insects. They feast on grass, weeds, aquatic plants, slugs, snails, tadpoles, and worms.

Ducks have a number of ways in which they have adapted to their environment. Their webbed feet help them move quickly through water when swimming. However, they’re slow on land because the webbing makes them wobble. Ducks also have glands that produce oil. This oil covers their feathers, making them waterproof to keep them dry and warm. Their uniquely shaped bills allow them to grab and catch their food. They also have little teeth-like filters inside their bills to help them keep bugs and tiny insects in, and strain out the water.

While ducks live on land and in the water, they need water to survive. Ducks roam around on moist land to find bugs and eat grass. They also build nests to lay their eggs and keep them warm until they hatch. Ducks also need water. When digging through dirt as they look for food, they get mud in their nostrils. It’s important that they have water to dunk their heads under so that they are able to keep their nostrils clean. They also use the water to bathe in and keep their bodies free of parasites.

If you live in a place that gets pretty cold and the lakes and ponds freeze over, ducks will usually fly south for the winter. If you live somewhere that is on the warmer side year round, you’ll most likely spot ducks through the winter months.

Most people think that they know all there is to know about ducks. They seem like pretty simple creatures. However, if you take a closer look, you’ll find that there are some very interesting facts to learn about ducks.

Ducks-KEY DETAILS




If you’re ever in the freshwater areas that flow through Tasmania and Australia, be on the look out for a unique creature that waddles on land and swims through water. I’m not talking about a duck, even though there are some similarities between the two animals. This creature is the platypus.

The platypus is not only interesting to learn about, but it is also an odd-looking animal. It has a rubbery but flexible bill, kind of like a duck. In fact, it is sometimes called the duck-billed platypus. It uses its bill to scoop up food from streams and river bottoms. The platypus is a carnivore, only eating meat or insects. While scooping up foods like worms, shrimp, crabs, and other insects, it also scoops up gravel. The platypus will use the gravel as “teeth” to help it grind up the food. This is because the platypus doesn’t actually have teeth of its own to chew its food.

The platypus lives on land and in water. However, it moves a bit slower on land. It has a thick beaver-like tail that helps it maneuver through water quickly, but it also stores up fat in case there is a shortage of food. The platypus has webbed feet that are used to help quickly move around when in water. The webbing retracts, or pulls up. Once the webbing is retracted, the feet have individual nails that they can use to dig burrows while on land. Females lay eggs in these burrows. Yes! Platypuses lay eggs! Even though these creatures are considered mammals, they do lay eggs like birds. While in the water, platypuses’ eyes, ears, and noses seal shut to keep water from going in them. They also have waterproof fur to keep their top layers of fur dry and warm.

A little known thing about the platypus is that the males are venomous. They have claw-type stingers on their back feet. However, they cannot use this venom year round. The venom is only available for males during breeding season. This leads scientists believe that the venom is not used by the platypuses for defense. Most likely, it is to fight off other platypus when looking for females.

The next time you’re out in the fresh waters of Tasmania or Australia and you think that you see a duck, a beaver, or maybe an otter, you just might have spotted the very unique and fascinating platypus.

Platypuses-KEY DETAILS




Have you ever heard of a sport in which the players run down the field while trying to steal the ball from each other, often tackling opponents to get it? Most people hearing about this sport would guess that I’m talking about football. While it does have some similarities to football, I’m actually talking about the sport of rugby.

Rugby has been around since the early 1800s. While no one is positive about where the sport really originated from, it is said that it began at a school called Rugby School in England in 1823. As the years went on, rugby became more popular amongst the boys and men in England, helping the rules become more established as the sport became more popular. Rugby started spreading to many other countries. As of now it is most popular in New Zealand and Wales. However, it’s also big in Ireland, Scotland, and England, as well.

The sport is played on a large rectangular field. At the end of each side of the field is an H-shaped field goal. Each team is working to score the most points by the end of the game. The team with the ball works to get the ball down the field toward their in-goal area. The goalposts are in front of the in-goal area. When the team with the ball puts the ball down in the in-goal area, they score points called a “try”. A try is worth five points. There are other ways to score points, as well. For example, a conversion, penalty kick, or drop goal are other ways to score points in rugby.

Rugby can be a pretty tricky sport. In rugby, you cannot pass the ball forward. The ball can only be passed backward to teammates. While running forward, you’re passing the ball backward and trying not to be tackled. With all of the tackling, rugby can be considered a rough sport. There are some rules to tackling. Only the person with the ball can be tackled by another player, meaning that players trying to run after the ball carrier cannot be tackled. Since rugby players don’t usually wear helmets and pads, there are special ways they tackle in order to try to not injure players. In rugby, they don’t want the tackle to stop the game; they only tackle to steal the ball.

The next time you’re watching a sport in which the opponents are tackling and trying to steal the ball in order to get points, don’t be so sure that you’re watching a game of football. You might be watching a game of rugby.

Rugby-KEY DETAILS




What do Dalllas, Greenbay, Pittsburgh, Denver, Miami, and New England have in common? They’re all cities in the United States that have professional football teams in the NFL (National Football League). Altogether there are 32 national football teams across the country.

American football has been around since the late 19th century and can also be called grid-iron football. Grid-iron football started in colleges in North America, mostly in the United States where the sport is now most popular. The first game that was played between colleges in 1869 was a soccer-style game in which the rules came from the London Football Association. However, in 1875, Yale and Harvard played their first game. This game was played with more of a rugby-type style. This led to a man by the name of Walter Camp, helping take the sport from the rugby like game to what we know as football today.

Football is played on a rectangular field that has a goalpost at each end. In front of the goalposts is a section of the field called an endzone. The player’s main goal is to run or pass the ball down the field in order to get a player from your team to cross the opponents’ end zone line with the ball. If successful, that team will score a touchdown which is worth six points. This is not the only way to score points in the game. There are other ways to score in football such as, an extra or two-point conversion, safety or a field goal.

When catching or running the ball in football, the opposing team tries to tackle the player with the ball or other teammates in order to stop the play and take down the runner. The ball is passed forward in order to get more yards and closer to the end zone or complete a pass. Football can be a dangerous sport, so wearing gear is a must. In football, players wear helmets to protect their heads when getting tackled. They also wear pads on their shoulders and chests. In fact, there is a rule in the NFL that all players must wear helmets to play in the game.

So many Americans find the sport of football interesting and entertaining to watch. The Superbowl is the most watched American broadcast every year. It is the most popular sport to watch in the United States. Now that you know the history of the game, which football team will you cheer on?

Football-KEY DETAILS




“Being an author is fun. It's a great job, because I can stay up as late as I want, and if I feel like taking the day off, I do it. Plus, I get to make up silly stories and draw pictures all day.” These are the words of famous children’s author Dav Pilkey. You may have read a book from his popular series known as, Captain Underpants. However, things weren’t always fun and easy for Dav.

Dav Pilkey was born March 4, 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio. As a child, he always loved to draw and make his own comics. He often got into trouble at school and in class. His teacher would send him out of class to work in the hallway. While sitting at his desk out in the hallway, he created his first comic book about Captain Underpants. After seeing his comic book, his teacher told him that he couldn’t spend his whole life creating silly stories. Dav’s parents always encouraged him. They loved reading his comics and found them entertaining. This inspired Davto continue with his creating.

Later on in life, Dav graduated high school and began attending college at Kent State University. He was studying to be an English teacher. His English professor saw some of his comic and asked him if he had ever thought about writing children’s books. At that moment, Dav decided that was exactly what he wanted to do. He entered and won a contest for his first book titled World War Won in 1987. The book was later published. When looking for a publisher for his other creations, he was rejected many times, but he didn’t give up. Several years later, he was able to get a few more books published.

In 1997, he released the first ever Captain Underpants book. From there on, he continued releasing book after book in the series. He has sold over 80 million copies around the world and in 2017, the book was made into an animated film. Kids love the crazy things that the main characters Harold and George get into, along with their interesting superpowers. Dav has continued writing other series like Dog Man, The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, and Super Diaper Baby.

The story about how Dav Pilkey became a famous children’s author is not only inspiring, but it also lets you know that it’s okay if you run into some bumps and not everyone believes in you. If you believe in yourself and just keep working toward your goal, you can achieve it one day.

Dav Pilkey-KEY DETAILS




Things don’t always work out the way that you think they’re going to. Jeff Kinney knows that lesson well. If you have ever heard of the popular children’s book series known as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, then you might know that Jeff Kinney is the award-winning author of the series. However, being a children’s author was not Jeff’s original plan.

Jeff Kinney was born in Maryland in 1971. He always had a love for reading books and enjoyed authors like Judy Blume and J.R.R. Tolkien. He describes his childhood as a very typical and normal childhood. Jeff was one of four children, with an older brother and sister, as well as a younger brother. Later in his life, Jeff attended the University of Maryland. He began working for the college newspaper and created a comic called “Igdoof”. The comic became very popular around the college. This helped Jeff decide that he wanted to be a cartoonist.

Jeff was excited about his new dream and left Maryland to go to Massachusetts in 1995. He spent the next three years trying to get newspapers interested in his comics. However, all Jeff ended up with was a pile of rejection letters. Luckily, he had been sketching each day in his sketch book for another idea he had. These sketches took him a total of eight years, and they came together to make the first book in his series called, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid was first released in pieces on a website called Funbrain.com. A publishing company then offered to publish the book in 2007, and the kids loved it! Year after year, Jeff continued adding books to the series, and it became a bestseller. To date, he has 14 books altogether in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Kids can relate to the main character in the story, Greg Heffly, and the problems he causes and faces each day. To add to the hype, there are four movies out that are based on the book series. In addition, the main character is also a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Jeff is proud of his accomplishments as a children’s author, even though that was not his original plan. He now believes that being a children’s author is what he was meant to do all along.

Jeff says that he has learned throughout his life to persevere and keep going. Even though he wasn’t able to get his career as a cartoonist up and running, he kept moving forward. He realized that he was meant to do other things. If it wasn’t for his hard work, we wouldn’t have the funny Diary of a Wimpy Kid series that so many children love to read.

Jeff Kinney-KEY DETAILS


c and c paired passages€¦ · ways to score points in rugby. rugby can be a pretty tricky sport....

Documents